Adventures on Tybee Island, Georgia

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If you’re visiting Georgia, chances are the city of Savannah is going to be on your list. Well, here’s a tip for you. Whilst you’re in town – make the effort to head out to Tybee Island. This relaxed town is perfect for a day trip (or longer!), and is very much worth the visit. Here are some highlights:

Climb the Lighthouse

Tybee Island lighthouse with some clouds in the sky

One of my favourite things to do when visiting a new place is to get as high above it as possible and get my bearings. Ok, so getting my bearings on Tybee Island wasn’t so hard, given that there’s sea on one side and land on the other, but still. The view was excellent, after climbing all the steps!

There’s more to the lighthouse than just the lighthouse as well. There are a number of well-preserved cottages that were the homes of the lighthouse keepers and their families, which have plenty of interesting information about the history of the lighthouses and informative displays about what life might have been like for these people.

Visit the Museum

Just opposite the Lighthouse are a series of old batteries, which once served as gun emplacements for the defence of the area. They never saw active service, and were finally decommissioned. Unfortunately, giant reinforced concrete structures tend to be a bit of a challenge to demolish, so many of them have now been repurposed.

One of these has been turned into a really interesting museum on the history of Tybee Island, which reminded me a great deal of a British Victorian sea side town – rising in popularity when the railway was put in - and home to all kinds of interesting stories and characters. The museum also goes into older history, including the civil war. Being housed in a battery makes it particularly interesting because generally, a battery is designed to be a handy place for ammunition storage, troop housing and that sort of thing, rather than museum type things. So it’s quite a fascinating maze to explore, and you need to watch out for low hanging ceilings and narrow passageways!

Walk along the Pier

Tybee Island pier in the summertime with the tide coming in

One of the main draws of Tybee Island is of course the beach. We visited in January, so it wasn’t exactly the optimal time of year for sunshine and ice cream, but we did enjoy walking out along the pier and the beach scenery. At the start of the pier there’s a good, if small, marine centre – they do guided beach walks where you can learn about local marine wildlife and conservation efforts, which would be a great family activity.

Explore Fort Pulaski

cannons at Pulaski Fort on Tybee Island, Georgia

Not quite on Tybee Island, but close enough that I’m going to add it here anyway, is the fascinating Fort Pulaski. A National Monument, this fort was designed to be impervious to enemy attack. Unfortunately, claims like this tend not to stand up to the advancement of military technology, and the invention of rifled cannon meant that it only took a couple of days of intense shelling during the American Civil War before the walls were breached and the Confederate garrison was forced to surrender.

These days, the Fort is a wonderful place to learn about this sort of Fort as well as the American Civil War, with cannon firing and musket demonstrations. You can explore all around the structure, and there’s a nice museum as well. If you’re feeling fit, there’s also a forty minute walk which gives you lovely views of a nearby lighthouse.

Eat at the Gastropub

Finally on my list of things to do on Tybee Island – it would be remiss of me not to mention the food! Our favourite eating place was the 80 East Gastropub. This is hidden behind a gas station (petrol station if you’re English), and by all accountants, given the location, you might not expect very much. And you’d be wrong.

The food here is absolutely fantastic, with a mix of classic American dishes, southern comfort food, and rotating international cuisine. Worth checking out – they also have an excellent selection of beers! Our Homestay host also recommended the nearby Crab Shack, although time conspired against us and we never quite made it here.

And that just about sums up my Tybee Island recommendations! If you can, do squeeze a visit here in – you won’t regret it!


Laurence stayed with our host Patty when he visited Tybee Island.


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